Strawberry Shortcake Cups
These adorable Strawberry Shortcake Cups are the perfect single-serving party desserts! With just six simple ingredients, they are super easy to make, but show-stopping every time.
Strawberry Shortcake Cups Recipe
Ever since I started my food blog, my friends and family often ask me to bring dessert. And while I love them for it, life is busy, so sometimes I just need a super easy recipe! Can you relate?
These quick and easy strawberry shortcake cups are my new favorite party treat. I always have empty jars on hand, and single-serving desserts are a great idea for parties where people will be on their feet. Something about the jars just makes people ooh and ahh - it seems fancy, but it's really not!
This dessert is easy to transport, because you can just put the lids on or even assemble them on-site. The best part is the flavor though - you can use fresh strawberries along with store-bought angel food cake, all layered with a decadent vanilla cream.
Why You'll Love this Recipe
- People think they're so fancy. The only one who will know how easy they are to make is you!
- They're an easy and inexpensive dessert. And you can use (clean) recycled jars, or even plastic cups.
- Single-serving desserts are great for parties. Guests will devour these in no time!
Ingredients
You only need six ingredients to make this shortcake dessert, and they come together in a jiffy. This is a layered dessert, so let's talk about the different layers:
The first layer is angel food cake, diced into cubes. You can make the cake yourself or you can buy it. Angel food is airy and fluffy, but you can use pound cake or any kind of unfrosted vanilla cake!
The creamy layer is a mixture of cream cheese, powdered sugar and whipped cream. This combo of ingredients makes a lovely, decadent cream layer that contrasts with the light, fluffy cake and syrupy strawberries. (If you're up to the challenge, homemade whipped cream makes them even more decadent.)
And then there's the strawberry layer. You'll combine diced strawberries with granulated sugar and let it sit for a little while. This is a process called macerating. The sugar draws out the juices from the berries, creating a syrupy mixture, which then soaks into the pound cake.
Finish them off beautifully. Be sure to set aside a whole strawberry to go on top of each individual dessert. I like to pick out the prettiest ones before I hull and dice the others! No one will notice if you use slightly bruised strawberries in the layered mixture.
How to Make Strawberry Shortcake Cups
This recipe is incredibly easy to pull together.
Scroll down to the recipe card for the full step by step instructions! ⬇️
Jump to Recipe
- Clean, hull, and dice the berries. Then, combine them with sugar in a bowl and let them sit for a few minutes.
- Meanwhile, use a mixer to whip together the cream cheese and powdered sugar. Use a spatula to gently fold in the whipped cream so it stays fluffy.
- Scoop the cream mixture into a piping bag with a piping tip of your choice.
- Cut the cake into ½ inch cubes and drop them into the bottoms of the jars. Don't be afraid to squish them in!
No piping bag? No problem! Place the mixture in a zip-top bag and snip one of the corners off. If you don't mind things looking a little messier, it's totally okay to spoon the mixture into the jars.
- Add some of the macerated strawberries over the cake layer.
- Pipe some of the cream cheese mixture over the berries to make the third layer.
- Repeat the layers one more time - cake, berries, whipped cream.
- Then add 1 whole strawberry on top and enjoy!
Madison's Pro Tips for Success:
The strawberry shortcake jars are simple enough to make yourself, but if you have kids, let them get involved in building the layers!
- Keep the chilled until you're ready to serve. Cover the cups and keep them in the fridge for up to 2 days. They taste the best when their freshly made.
- Use the best looking strawberries on top of the dessert.
- If you don't have a piping bag, just use a spoon to add the cream cheese mixture into the jars!
Serving Ideas
You can assemble the dessert in jars, plastic cups, or even regular drinking glasses (smaller ones, ideally).
Place all of them onto a pretty tray or a plate, and set them next to a container with spoons.
No cups? You can layer everything into a trifle bowl or clear glass dish instead.
Recipe FAQs
Ideally, make the strawberry shortcakes the day you plan to serve them. They'll stay fresh in your fridge for a couple of days, but any longer than that and the texture won't be quite right.
If you don't have mason jars, feel free to use clear plastic cups, small drinking glasses, or even a pretty glass dish. You don't have to use anything clear, though it is nice to see all of the layers!
I'd love to hear about your experience making this recipe! Please leave a comment and rating below!
Strawberry Shortcake in Cups
Equipment
- 5 Regular Ball Mouth Mason Jars 8 ounces (1 pint)
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups diced strawberries
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened to room temperature
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- ½ cup whipped cream
- 10 ounces angel food cake
- 5 whole strawberries
Instructions
- Clean, hull, and dice 1 ½ cups diced strawberries. Add them to a bowl, add in ¼ cup granulated sugar, and stir to combine. Let them sit for a few minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, cream together the 4 ounces cream cheese and ¼ cup powdered sugar, then gently fold in the ½ cup whipped cream until well combined. Place this mixture in a piping bag with your desired piping tip.
- Dice 10 ounces angel food cake into ½-inch cubes.
- Add a layer of cake cubes to the bottom of a mason jar, squishing them in to create a thicker layer, if desired.
- Add 1 ½ to 2 tablespoons of diced strawberries on top of each cake layer.
- Pipe some of the cream cheese mixture over the strawberries to make the third layer.
- Repeat the layers one more time. Then add the 1 of the 5 whole strawberries on top of each cup, just before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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